The Cold Stars
by DangerousNami21
Summary: Sanji is having nightmares. Who is going to be there for him when it gets worse? How is he going to take it?


_**Type: Yaoi. **_

_**Pairing: ZoroxSanji**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I can only wish. T-T**_

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The Cold Stars_**

The sky was bright with the soft glow of the moon and filled with thousands and billions of stars. I sat up in bed and clutched my knees close to my chest. I was covered in a cold sweat which made my hair stick to my face. I took in deep breaths to try to calm myself down. After a while, I put my head back on my pillow and covered my face with my arm. My nice dream turned into a nightmare.

_I was sitting under a tree, smoking. Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Brook were playing near the lake. Zoro was leaning against the tree with his arms crossed over his chest, sleeping without a care in the world. Nami and Robin were smiling happily while watching Luffy and the others. Franky was sprawled out on the grass, looking up at the sky._

_The sky was nice and bright. Then with no warning at all the white clouds turned gray, covering the whole sky. Everything stood still. Then everyone stood up with their backs facing me. Thunder and lighting flashed in the sky. The rain came down hard and a fierce wind whipped around the tree._

_"What's going on!?" I had to shout to be heard. No one answered me. They just stood there, my words didn't reach their ears. Then they all turned around. Their eyes were gone and the smell of a fresh corpse was strong in the air. Their cheeks were hollow and their skin was a nasty shade and it stuck to their bones. I stared at them horrified. _

_"Sanji," they moaned,"Why?"_

_I couldn't believe my eyes and I couldn't believe my ears. My nakama died before my eyes. They stocked closer to me with their hollowed out eyes and foul stench. I shrunk back against the tree, terrified. Then their hands were around my neck, choking me and strangling me._

I woke up before it got worse. What terrified me was when my nakama died and I didn't save them. What terrified me more was the feeling of being near death. I've heard stories of how people can die in their sleep but I never believed them, till now. I closed my eyes again hoping my nightmare wouldn't come back and to get some sleep before I had to get up.

I woke up at dusk. I got ready for the day ahead of me. I was almost done cooking breakfast when everyone started to file in. I finished putting on my last little details and I served everyone. I sat at my place and breakfast went on like usual. The nightmare I had last night never left my head. I finished first and everyone soon followed. Once I finished washing the dishes I sat down at the counter. I crossed my arms over the cold marble and I buried my head in them. I thought about my life so far but that dream flashed in my head. I didn't know when I fell asleep but I had that dream again.

I heard someone screaming and a name being called. Multiple voices called a name that sounded oddly familiar. I opened my eyes and I instantly realized that I was the one screaming and everyone was calling my name. Zoro had his hands on my shoulders. He looked at me with a worried expression. Everyone was looking at me sadly. I realized my face was wet. I touched my cheek and found it stained with tears. I looked down so they wouldn't see my face.

"What happened?" my voice was hoarse and strained.

"We found you on the floor screaming," said Zoro,"It seems that you were just having a nightmare."

"That's all," I said,"Then, you could let go of me. I'm fine." I pulled out of his grasp and I put my back towards them. I didn't want them to see me like this.I took out a cigarette and placed it between my lips.

"Sanji, I need to check you to see if you are all right," said Chopper. I took out my lighter and I lit the cigarette that was dangling from my lips. I heard no footsteps.

"I'm fine." I released a puff of smoke into the air.

"Listen to him," said Nami. Then I heard footsteps going towards the door.

"Let Chopper check you," said Luffy.

"I'm fine, Chopper." I still had my back towards them.

"You idiot cook! Let him check you or else," said Zoro. I smashed my cigarette into the tray. I wasn't going to give up easily. I turned around and faced him.

"Or else what! What are you going to do!?" I shouted. He looked at me with his calm deadly eyes and for some reason I found myself backing up against the counter. He stocked closer to me. To the point where my hands were gripping the edge of the counter and his face was only an inch away.

"I'm gonna make you." His tone was deadly. I found myself being swept off my feet.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I found myself staring at his back. He carried me over his shoulder with an arm around my waist.

"Come on, Chopper." He didn't say a word. I stayed quite and I didn't struggle. I felt embarrassed but I guess this is his way of showing he cares. Once we got to the medical ward he threw me on one of the beds.

"Try being more gentle," I said

"Don't push it," Zoro replied. He left the room and slammed the door. Chopper did the usual check up and couldn't find anything wrong with me.

"Maybe it's not physical," he muttered. He sat down in his chair.

"So you're saying whatever is wrong with me, its mental," I said.

"Yes. Everything looks normal, physically."

"Recently I've been having nightmares."

"How recent?"

"Since last night."

"Well, the best thing I can do is give you something to help you sleep."

"Its okay. I think I'll be fine by tomorrow." I made my way towards the door. Once I was outside I found no one waiting. More like I didn't find him waiting. For some reason, I thought he would be out here. I don't know why that thought even crossed my mind.

I made my way back to my kitchen and the day went on like normal. Night approached quickly and I was getting ready for bed. I was in the shower, the hot water relaxed my nerves and washed away my thoughts. Once I was done, I changed and went outside for awhile. I went to the watch tower. I sat down and started out at the ocean. I was lost in thought. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned my head and found Zoro. He had a strange glint in his eyes. It showed concern, worry, and a bunch of other emotions I couldn't catch because he looked away. He sat down and stared out the window.

The moon light shown on him and highlighted his features. His usually scowl was replaced with a look of worry and hurt. For some strange reason, I wanted to hold his face in my hands and comfort him. I quickly pushed the thought out of my head and went back to doing what I did before he came. The silence last for a while until he broke it.

"So cook, what did Chopper say?" I made no move to turn my head and look him in the eyes. But the urge to was tugging at me. I felt his gaze upon my face.

"He said I was fine," I answered.

"So after what happened today he said you were fine." His voice rose and anger tainted his words. I didn't want to say anymore. I heard him stood up.

"Look at me," he said. I stayed where I was and I didn't say a word. He got my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. They didn't hold anger, instead they held worry and hurt. We stared at each other for a long time. This time I was the once to break the silence.

"What ever is wrong with me," I paused not knowing how to get the words out,"Its in my head." I looked away from his eyes and he removed his hand. I turned my gaze towards the ocean once again. I heard him sit back down. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw that he had his head in his hands. The silence was calming and comforting. I heard him sigh. I kept my gaze direct on the ocean. One thing that I always love about the night was the stars. It was amazing how the sea reflected the sky, it was as if we were sailing though space. The sea air was cold but it was prefect.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Zoro was acting odd. He's been showing nothing but concern for the whole day. I was shocked but at the same time I wasn't. We've been though a lot of things together.

"I don't know what's going on with me," I blurted out. I put my head in my hands and sighed out in frustration. Instead of teasing him, I found myself opening up to him. He stayed silent and listened.

"I guess I was just freaked out by the nightmare I had yesterday." There dead faces flashed in my head. I shivered.

"What happened?" he asked. I felt his eyes on me and I looked up. He had that same glint in his eyes from when he first walked in here. I stared at them for a while until I directed my eyes at the floor.

"It was just a silly nightmare. I don't know why it got to me." I put my head in my hands. He stayed quite and waited for me to continue. "My dream was nice and normal. It was like one of those days where we stopped at an island. Everything was fine and calming but the tables turned and a nasty storm appeared out of nowhere. Once the storm started you guys stood up and had your backs facing me. I asked_,"What's going on!?" _but no one answered me. Then you guys turned around and you were living corpses...It was like Thriller Bark all over again."

It was quite and tense. I didn't want the last sentence to leave my mouth but it felt like I had to say it. The events at Thriller Bark were still etched into my mind. We escaped with our lives and I was grateful for that but I'll never forget what went on between me and Zoro. Ever since those events we have fought less and we found ourselves drifting away.

He stayed quite and I continued to look out the window. The silence last for while until he finally decided to break it. His hand held my cheek and I looked into his eyes. Worry and sadness were in them and something else I didn't recognize.

"Its okay. Its over. Something like that will never happen again," he said.

"Please don't make promises you can't keep," I pleaded. I shut my eyes and snuggled closer into his hand.

"I won't. You're safe now and that's all that matters." He wrapped his arms around me. I buried my head into his shoulder and breathed in his scent.

"I'm happy you're still alive." I almost felt like crying but I didn't.

We stayed like that for a long time. He was warm and comfortable. It felt like our worries were washed away and nothing else mattered but each other. I felt his chin resting on my head and his arms wrapped securely around me. My mind was clouded with sleep and my eyes were getting heavy. I fell asleep in his comforting embrace.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Review.**


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